The Monster Beneath the Bed: A Moonshine Wizard Story Read online

  “Fair enough,” Bert replied. “Go on.”

  “So, the Kraelin feed off fear. In appearance, they basically look like scary demon monsters from Hell. Some think the Kraelin is where humans got the idea of ‘demons’ from. That’s debatable. There’s lots of ‘demon’ type monsters out there, including ones that actually get called ‘demons,’ so there’s really no telling. Point is, they look terrifying to your feeble little brains. Reptilian skin, horns, forked tongues, and crazy eyes.”

  “Shame we won’t get to see it,” Bert said.

  “We could, if you wanted,” Sharp said. “Though, I don’t recommend it. It’s a bit dangerous. The Kraelin would probably eat your face.”

  Bert paused, then decided not to go down that rabbit hole. While it would be intriguing to see one of the monsters, it really wasn’t imperative to what he was doing. Besides, as he had learned the hard way, when Sharp said something was dangerous, it was generally a drastic understatement.

  “Okay,” Bert said, “So let’s move on to the part about the Kraelin harassing children.”

  “Right. So, as I’ve already mentioned, they feed off fear. They have a particular magical skill they’ve refined throughout the ages, passing it down from clan to clan. In the same way that you have a magical connection to your friends, they can set up magical connections to distant planets. They seek out and find weak minds, like children, for example. When the child is sleeping, and most vulnerable, they use their magic to incite the kid’s fear, usually by projecting their own image. They know they’re scary buggers. Sort of a…if you’ve got it, flaunt it, type of thing. But the more afraid the kid gets, the stronger the bond becomes.”

  “I get the concept and I understand what happens,” Bert said, then paused to consider his question. “I guess I just don’t understand exactly how it works.”

  “Hmm,” Sharp replied. “How to explain this to a moron?”

  Bert waited.

  Finally, Sharp said, “Okay, think about a nicotine addiction, except, consider that the nicotine actually has a mind of its own. The first time someone smokes they aren’t addicted yet, and the damage to their lungs is minimal. However, they’ve slid opened the door to the addiction, if only just barely. But the next time they pick up a cigarette, they move just a hair closer. Now imagine that our nicotine monster actually feeds itself off the addiction. It craves the person’s addiction as much as the person craves the nicotine. It starts pushing thoughts of smoking into the person’s mind, constantly encouraging them to have that next smoke. And each time they do, the bond strengthens until eventually, they’re smoking three packs a day.”

  “I’m with you,” Bert said.

  “The Kraelin work in a similar way. They instill a hint of fear, feed off of it, and try to push it. Each time the victim gets a little bit more afraid, the Kraelin feeds and strengthens the bond. Fortunately, it usually takes them years to establish a full bond, and by then the child’s family has moved, he’s grown up, or has a new bedroom, or they lose hold some other way.”

  “Wait,” Bert paused. “What do you mean by establishing a full bond? I thought all they did was instill fear and feed. What happens if they establish a full bond?”

  “You don’t know?” Sharp asked, a rare hint of surprise in his voice. “Wow, you really do need to spend more time studying. If a Kraelin makes a strong enough bond, it can actually use that bond to teleport itself here, devour the person in flesh, and hop back home. You know, in exactly the same way that you… Well not you, because you suck at teleporting, but the way that some wizards can teleport to their friends pretty much anytime? The Kraelin can do something similar.”

  “Wow,” Bert said. “I had no idea. That’s terrifying.”

  “Yeah, the parent wakes up to find their child gone. Doors locked and usually no sign of a struggle. Occasionally, they’ll find a pool of blood. Other times the Kraelin will drag the kid back to their own realm before the feast. Either way, the devastated families never find out what happened to their lost tyke. They’re just gone.”

  “You’d think the Hand would do something about that.”

  “Well, like I said, it’s very rare that such a bond is established. It takes years for the Kraelin to build a connection that strong, or some super strong Kraelin. The Hand of Magic wizards couldn’t do much about it anyway. When the Kraelin goes back home they cut the connection like you would cut a rope to keep someone from climbing up it behind you. It would take an extremely powerful wizard to rebuild the bridge back to the Kraelin world. Then what? Go there and try to attack the monsters? As far as I know, no one has ever traveled to the Kraelin world and come back to talk about it.”

  “Fair enough,” Bert said. “But they could just re-establish the connection and send a nuke through.”

  “I would actually agree with you on that,” Sharp said. “But for some reason, the Hand of Magic has rules against nuking other planets. Weird, right?”

  “Okay, well now that I’m creeped out,” Bert said, shaking his head, “let’s get this done. Same old routine? I stick you under the bed. You tell me how powerful the connection is. Then you cut the connection.”

  “No.”

  “No? Why not?”

  “Because you need to learn.”

  “You’re supposed to help me.”

  “I am helping you,” Sharp said. “I’ll make sure you do everything right, but this time I’m not doing it for you. You know spells that will let you see the connection, and you also know spells to cut it. You just have to piece it together yourself.”

  “That’s going to take longer,” Bert replied.

  “Well, since my options are watch you stumble through this, or stare at your office wall all day…”

  Bert grumbled, but knew that Sharp wasn’t going to budge. So instead of arguing, he got down on his hands and knees, looked under the bed, and went to work.

  It only took him a few minutes to get a clear image of the Kraelin connection in his mind. It was exhausting work, but Sharp had been right, it was something he needed to practice.

  With a little effort and magical manipulation, he could make the image manifest in a form that made sense to his feeble human mind. Sharp could actually make the lines appear like a little blue glowing spider web. Bert wasn’t at that level, but he could get a feel for them.

  “Okay, Sharp,” Bert said. “I think I’m ready to cut this thing.”

  With Sharp’s guidance, he began working his way through the series of spells to cut the connection. When he was done, ten minutes had passed and he’d broken out in a sweat.

  “Sharp, are we good?”

  “You tell me,” replied the sword. “It’s your work.”

  “I think it’s done.”

  “Well, if you’re wrong then I suppose the kid will still think that there are monsters under his bed and the mom won’t pay you.”

  Bert growled and got to his feet.

  In the living room, he found Neil comfortably sitting on the floor and playing with action figures alongside Tommy. The mom sat in a recliner, nervously folding her hands. All three looked up at him as he entered the room, and all three seemed surprised by his sweaty appearance. The mom looked at him like he was a psycho. All he could do was include it in the act.

  “Those were some mean monsters you had under your bed, Tommy,” Bert said. “Actually thought I was going to have get Neil to help me there for a minute, but in the end, monsters aren’t a match for a wizard.”

  “So, they’re gone?” Tommy asked, glancing toward Neil for reassurance. “You aren’t just messing with me?”

  “They’re gone,” Bert said, keeping his tone serious. “I promise.”

  The kid darted across the room and stuck out his pinky. “Pinky promise?”

  Bert wrapped his pinky around the kid’s and said, “Pinky promise.”

  A few minutes later he and Neil were back on the road.

  Neil glanced over at him and said, “So, were the monsters bi
g and scary?”

  Bert smiled. “I have no idea, but I cut their connection to the little dude’s room.”

  Neil nodded, “Kraelin, eh?”

  “Sure enough.”

  “Fun.”

  “Not as much fun as playing with action figures, Jerk. Next time you get to take out the Kraelin and I get to play with toys.”

  Neil threw up his hands in defense. “It’s not my fault you’re so terrible with children.”

  Bert grunted a reply. It was all in jest, though. Actually, he felt pretty good. He really had gotten rid of the monsters, after all.

  ***

  A week later…

  Bert was nearly asleep when the ringing sounded in his ears. He shot awake and realized that it was his desk phone. He’d almost forgotten he even had a desk phone. He stared at it suspiciously, but it didn’t stop. That meant that it was likely Farrah. So much for the afternoon snooze.

  He picked it up and said, “Hello.”

  “Hi, Bert,” Farah’s voice said. “There’s a lady on the phone that wants to speak to you. She said it’s urgent.”

  “Uh, all right,” Bert replied. “Send her through.”

  He waited a moment, and repeated, “Hello.”

  “Is this Waylon?” asked a female voice.

  “Uh, yes,” he said, still suspicious.

  “Hi, this is Tommy’s mother. I hired you to help with the monsters thing.”

  “Right,” Bert replied, realizing who he was talking to. “Is something wrong?”

  When she replied, her voice had an edge to it. “I thought you said that none of your other clients have ever been disappointed?”

  “They haven’t,” he replied. “Is Tommy still having problems?”

  “Worse than ever,” she replied, but now she just seemed more tired, and less angry.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “Okay,” she said, and paused to gather her thoughts. “After you left, he was fine. He had no problems all week. He slept in his room every night, and never even mentioned monsters again. Then last night, in the middle of the night, he started screaming bloody murder. I ran to his room and found him balling his eyes out, barely able to speak. He said the monsters were back and they were trying to take him. He didn’t sleep all night and had to miss school. He refuses to go anywhere near his bedroom. He has begged and begged me to call you, but honestly, at this point I think I may need to take him to see a counselor again.”

  “Wow,” Bert said, unsure what else to say. “I’m terribly sorry. I’ve never had this happen before.”

  “I just don’t know what to do,” she said. There was a hint of defeat in her voice that made Bert feel even worse.

  “I feel awful. I want to help. Would you like us to come back? At least try to cheer him up? Or maybe try again?”

  She was silent for a moment while she thought about it. Finally, she said, “Look, I don’t have a lot of money. I can’t really afford to take him to a counselor. Could you try again? I’ll pay double.”

  “Keep the money,” Bert said. “I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

  ***

  “So, the monsters are back?” Neil asked.

  They were on their way back to the house, and Bert found himself a little distraught. Like a surgeon with a missing pair of scissors, he was seriously concerned that he had somehow missed something. It didn’t help that Sharp hadn’t had much to say about it. The sword’s only opinion on it was that they’d find out when they got there. This, as opposed to his normal obnoxious behavior, scared the crap out of Bert.

  Bert realized that he still hadn’t answered Neil, and said, “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “I thought you cut the Kraelin’s connection?”

  “I thought I did too.”

  Neil shrugged. “He’s a kid, man. Kraelin are only a small part of why kids think there are monsters under their beds. He probably just had a nightmare or something.”

  “Probably so,” Bert agreed. “He likes you, so when we get inside you work on cheering the kid up, and I’ll check the room for any signs of Kraelin.”

  “Works for me. I like playing with action figures.”

  Bert grumbled as they came into the driveway. Again, they hopped out and knocked on the door.

  The mom waved them in, but before she could speak, Tommy charged toward them. “You’re here!”

  He ran past Bert and hugged Neil’s leg.

  “Of course, pal,” Neil said. “We wouldn’t leave you hanging if the monsters came back.”

  “That’s right,” Bert added. “If you don’t mind me going into your room, I’m going to march right in there and see if we can’t get rid of them once and for all!”

  “Well,” the boy said, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Are you sure you can? I mean, they did come back. Maybe Neil should do it this time.”

  The mom put a hand over her mouth to stifle a chuckle. Neil didn’t. He laughed openly. Bert stared at each of them, shook his head, and said, “I guess I could stay out here and play with you this time, and Neil could take care of the monsters.”

  Tommy wrinkled his nose at the idea, and then he turned his attention back to Neil. “Do you think he can really take care of the monsters?”

  Still trying to control his laughter, Neil said, “Yes, I think Bert can handle it. If he needs help, he will get me. You and I can play again, but this time I get to be Spiderman.”

  “Whaa…” cried the kid, “but Spiderman is my favorite! You can be Ironman! He has metal armor!”

  “Well, all right, I guess,” Neil said.

  The two of them stomped away toward the living room where the boy’s toys were still spread across the floor.

  Quietly, the mom said, “I’m sorry about that. He usually isn’t--”

  Bert waved it away. “Don’t worry about it. Kids either love me or hate me. No middle ground for some reason. At any rate, I’ll go ahead and run back there, and in a few minutes we’ll be done again.”

  “Okay,” she said, and then paused. “Could you try to really make a show of it this time? Show him some more tricks or something? I mean, is there something you can do to make him really feel like his room is safe?”

  “I’ll think of something,” Bert said, heading back toward the kid’s bedroom.

  The moment he entered the room, Sharp spoke into his mind. “Uh, Bert.”

  “Yes?”

  “Something is wrong here.”

  Bert had hoped that feeling was just his imagination. He glanced around the room again. It was a typical child’s bedroom, except that it was moderately clean, probably a result of making the kid think that would help keep the monsters away. There was something there, though, something that didn’t feel quite right.

  He wiped the sweat away from his eyes and paused, realizing for the first time that he was sweating. He hadn’t been moments earlier. It was unnaturally hot in the room. More than that, it was oppressive. It was magic. And he suspected it only affected him because he was a mage. Both mother and child were oblivious to it.

  “I think we’d better put your training on hold,” Sharp said. “I’ll make the connection appear this time.”

  Bert nodded and started for the bed. Usually, that’s where the little spider web manifested. However, this time he didn’t make it to the bed. He came up short as the glowing blue spiderweb lines began to appear.

  They were everywhere.

  Bert watched in horrid fascination as the blue veins stretched across the wall, thick and jagged. They spread over the bed and the floor, too. And they twisted and appeared in the air, stretching from one wall to another, and from the ground to the ceiling.

  Bert moved his head as another link materialized by his face.

  “What the hell is this, Sharp?” Bert asked, fighting down a tremor of terror.

  “Bad,” Sharp said. “It’s very fucking bad.”

  “How did we miss this before?” Bert asked. “These connections can’t be new.”
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  “They aren’t. Oh, these Kraelin are smart,” the sword replied. “They hid it. Somehow they managed to hide it from us. Had we been looking it for it, we might have seen it, but the one you cut was a false connection.”

  “It was a decoy,” Bert said.

  “Exactly. These Kraelin have apparently dealt with magic users before. They knew if a wizard came looking, they’d check under the bed first. So, they left a false connection out in the open, and hid the real one.”

  “What does this mean?”

  “It means that instead of cutting the connection, we simply alerted them to our presence. It means we might have just walked into a--”

  “Wiiizzard.” a voice said. Shivers rolled down Bert’s spine at the raspy baritone. It was something like a serpent speaking through a bullhorn. “We have been waiting for you.”

  The being’s laughter made Bert want to chop off his ears and fill the bloody stumps with mud.

  “Bert!” Sharp cried. “It’s coming through!”

  Using his mind, Bert called out to Neil. “Come to the door!”

  Neil responded, “Awww, but we’re playing--”

  “Now!” Bert screamed with his mind and cut the connection.

  He looked back up as he felt the magical energy in the room growing.

  The voice spoke again, “We like wiiizards. Ssooo many of our kind have been refussed an opportunity to feed because of you wiiizards. But you are not ssstrong. We can sssensse your weaknesss. We are coming for youuu.”

  “Sharp, what the hell are we supposed to do?”

  “Uh, fuck, um,” the sword said, sputtering. “Right. They’re weakest when they first come through. He won’t be at full strength right away. So, that’s good.”

  “How long?”

  “Well, it could be a few minutes, or it could be a few seconds. Hard to say. Depends on him, really.”

  “Well, that’s helpful. Obviously, he doesn’t think I’m much of a threat or he wouldn’t be en route to me.”

  Sharp laughed.